Home Care Topics
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Information for manufacturers
IKW Recommendation for the Quality Assessment of the Cleaning Performance of Hand Dishwashing Detergents (2024)
In 1998, an IKW working group was first commissioned to develop a “Recommendation for the Quality Assessment of the Cleaning Performance of Hand Dishwashing Detergents” [1]. In 2018, the IKW established another working group of experts from detergent manufacturers, raw material suppliers and testing institutes to revise the testing method originally published in 2002. The updated recommendation now represents a collection of three testing methods, which in their non-binding form are intended to enable a qualified examination of hand dishwashing detergents by the companies themselves and by testing institutes.
It may also serve as a contribution to the discussion on testing methods for hand dishwashing detergents at the European level and is divided into the following testing methods:
- Part A: Mileage through Plate Test
- Part B: Cleaning Performance through soak and wipe (scrub tester)
- Part C: Cleaning Performance through soak and rinse
Each of the three testing methods for the quality assessment of cleaning performance of hand dishwashing detergents must meet the following criteria:
- Consumer relevance
- Reproducibility
- Differentiation
- A test execution that is as straightforward as possible
To meet these criteria, the tests should additionally be performed with an “internal control” in two different dosages.
The full paper can be downloaded as a PDF file here. “Part B: Cleaning Performance through soak and wipe (scrub tester)” and “Part C: Cleaning Performance through soak and rinse” will be published separately in later issues of the SOFW-Journal.
[1] This recommendation was published in SOFW-Journal Issue 5, 2002, Edition 128, pages 23 to 29